Members of the community gathered together for the common and joyful enterprise of making music, to sing through for their own pleasure the great works in choral literature, with chorus, orchestra, and soloists as the works require. The meetings are informal readings in which any musically interested person may join the chorus. Conductors usually do some preparation with the chorus before the sing-through. This varies from minimal snatches for well-known pieces to a complete review for unfamiliar works.